Probe sought for U.S. Special Ops leader

WASHINGTON, Oct. 10 (UPI) -- U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates has been asked to investigate whether the general who oversees Special Operations is overzealous in prosecutions.

Rep. Walter Jones, R-N.C., asked for the investigation of Lt. Gen. Frank Kearney's actions, saying they "have damaged the lives of many of our special operators and deserve to be investigated," the Washington Times reported.

In June, Kearney ordered charges of premeditated murder be brought against two Army Special Forces soldiers even though the two soldiers already had been exonerated of shooting and killing a man in Afghanistan by the Army's Criminal Investigation Command.

In March, Kearney pulled all 120 members of the Marine Special Operations Command Fox Company out of Afghanistan before an internal preliminary investigation into the Marines' response to an ambush was completed.

"My client, and other Marines on the ... patrol, were presumed to be guilty rather than innocent and they have suffered the stigma," defense attorney Mark Waple told the Times.